10 Great Board Games for 10 Year Olds

“What board game should I get for my 10 year old?”

I have heard this question a lot lately. So I made a list of 10 great board games for 10 year olds.

These are board games I either played as a 10 year old. Or games that I would have wanted to play.

This should be a good starting point for good gift ideas to children around the age of 10.

In addition to my experience with these game, I’ve included a difficulty rating (1-5) for each board game.

A difficulty of 1 being a board game that is easy to learn and play. While 5 is the most difficult and meant for kids that want a challenge.

I added games of all difficulty level so you can find something that your child will enjoy.

10 of the best board games for 10 year olds

Here are 10 of my top picks of board games that I think your child will enjoy. These are also great games for kids to play with their grandmother!

These board games are in no particular order and all serve different purposes.

Some are educational and meant to teach your child valuable skills.

And some are just plain fun and goofy for your 10 year old to enjoy at their next sleepover.

1. Hedbanz – An Amazing Family Game that Kids Love

Difficulty – 2/5
Game Type- Party

My Experience
This is one of my favorite party games of all time. I love when a game is this much fun when the rules are so easy.

Basically, each player has a word on their head that they can’t see (“Apple” for example). But everyone else can.

When it’s your turn, you ask other players questions that will help you guess your word.

“Am I an animal?” – No
“Can you eat me?” – Yes
*10 questions later*
“Am I an Apple?!?!” – Yes!

Hedbanz is great because it teaches children basic deduction skills as well.

Parents – Try This!

One of my favorite things to do in this game is to ask if I am someone else’s card. Like if my brother had “Orange” on his head. I would ask…

“Can you eat me?” – Yes
“Am I an ORANGE?!” – No!

Then everyone laughs while my brother sits there confused with the word “orange” on his head.

Though this isn’t as fun now that he is on to my tricks!

2. Ticket to Ride – A Great Entry Level Strategy Game for Children that Adults Also Enjoy

Difficulty – 3/5
Game Type – Resource Management and Euro Game

My Experience
The rules are really simple and easy to understand. But the strategy can be fairly complex as you map out in your head how you will connect your trains from New York to San Francisco.

I play the app for this game when I travel and it is really fun on a plane ride. Though the physical game is much more fun to play if you get the chance.

When I learned this game, it was on a “mega sized” version at Gen con (the largest board gaming convention in the US). That was a lot of fun!

Another cool thing about this game is that you can buy other base games (such as the European version) without needing the original game (with the North American map). This is my board game pick for introducing new players to the strategy genre.

(Do you like DIY projects? See how to print cards for games at your own home)

3. Guess Who? – The Classic Game of Deduction I Loved as a 10 Year Old

Difficulty – 2/5
Game Type – Deduction

My Experience
I can’t even count the number of times I played this as a kid. And i’m sure I started playing this game much younger than 10 but enjoyed it for many many years after learning.

My mom (or grandma, I don’t remember) taught me this when I was probably 7 or 8.

I don’t know if they have new characters, but I remember the question “Does your person have glasses?” to be very good. And similar to my strategy in Hedbanz, I would sometimes ask my opponent specific questions that only related to my character. This usually confused people and made them think “well I guess that’s not HIS character.” hehe.

Or maybe it was a bad question and it was just really good when it worked. Who knows? I was just a kid!

(Is Your Child Creative? Show them the method I used to make my first board game prototype and see what game they think of!)

4. Quirkle – My Favorite Abstract Game that is Perfect for Family Game Night

Difficulty – 2/5
Game Type – Abstract and Tile Placement

My Experience
It’s like Scrabble but with abstract shapes and multiple colors.

Each turn, you play 1 piece that matches either shape or color. I like this quite a bit more than Scrabble because my vocabulary is kind of limited.

Added Bonus: It’s fun and challenging for all age levels. Making this game perfect for family game night!

5. Pictionary – An Action Packed Party Game that is Great for Creative Kids

Difficulty – 2/5
Game Type – Party and Educational

My Experience
“Educational? What?!?”

Let me explain. I’m sure most of you know what Pictionary is now. It’s a fun party game where you get a word and have to draw it while your teammates guess the word.

But to me. It has been much more than that. When I was studying art in college, we would play this game fairly often. Both in and out of the class!

I also enjoy it a lot because it forces you to improve your communication skills.

It’s really hard to explain words by drawing pictures of them in a limited amount of time. But if you can, then you will be a better communicator.

This is a classic “easy to learn, hard to master” type of game.

(Related – Ever thought about making a board game? Get the answers to many questions new board game designers have here.)

6. Forbidden Island – The Perfect Board Game for Children to Play that Level’s Up Their Teamwork Skills

Difficulty – 4/5
Game Type – Cooperative (team game)

My Experience
This was a fun game for me to play with my friends and family. And it encourages good teamwork.

All of the players are on a (forbidden) island with limited time. Your team must capture the 4 sacred treasures and escape the island before it floods.

The game also offers several difficulty levels and could probably be played with younger players as well. An added bonus is that Forbidden Island comes with some really cool game pieces to use.

7. 7 Wonders – A Card Game for Competitive Kids Wanting More of a Challenge

Difficulty – 5/5
Game Type – Drafting and Resource Management

My Experience
This is the hardest of the games on the list. But for a 10 year old that loves a good challenge, this is perfect for them.

When I was a 10 year old, this game was not out. But I would have really enjoyed playing it. As drafting games are one of my favorite game types.

If you are like me and don’t like reading rule books, then you can learn how to play by watching this video.

My mom loves to play this game with me and I am 30 now. We have enjoyed many games of 7 Wonders along with other family members and friends.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that she bought the 2 player version of this game for the times when it was just us playing. It has been a lot of fun playing both games with her.

8. Pie Face! – A Wacky Game that is Great for a Sleepover

Difficulty – 1/5
Game Type – Party Game

My Experience
I have not played this game yet. But I have seen some pictures on Facebook of my friends and their children enjoying this game (which is great for board game publishers).

There is not much to it:

• You spin the wheel.
• Crank the handle that many times
• Get a point for each successful crank.
• And hope to not have the hand go off and throw the whipped cream (not included) in your face

I don’t see this as being something that would have made my wish list as a child (or now). But I could see it being a really fun party game.

There is probably not much playback value to this game. But it would have been something fun to do at one of my slumber parties.

**Don’t forget to check your refrigerator for whipped cream before playing! (It’s not included)

9. King of Tokyo – An Interesting and Well Designed Board Game with Great Art

Difficulty – 3/5
Game Type – Press Your Luck and Resource Management

My Experience
This has been one of my “go to games” when I have a mix of people that play a lot of board games. And others that don’t.

King of Tokyo is slightly complex to learn for the first time if no one knows how to play. But if you have someone that has played before and teaches others, then it is fairly easy.

I like that there are a lot of options each player gets to make but the options are all simple. This helps children work on their overall strategies and tactics as the game is played.

King of Tokyo is also a great game for helping children learn basic risk management skills. Another good quality of the game!

10. Code Master – The Perfect Game for 10 Year Olds Wanting to Learn the Basics of Coding

Difficulty – 2/5
Game Type – Single Player Educational Game
Player Type – Analytical thinkers ages 8+

My Experience
I actually have not played this game yet. But I watched the video and see that it is a lot like the educational problem solving puzzles I enjoyed as a kid.

Programming is fun for me too which makes me think I would even like to play this as the adult I am today.

I rated it a 2/5 difficulty because of the varying difficulty that the video talks about. Basically, the game has “easy maps” and “hard maps”.

So it is a good fit for all levels of learning.

What do you think about this list of board games for 10 year olds?

What other game lists would you like to see us create for you?

Also, what do you think about this board game list for 10 year olds?

Do you have a favorite board game you played as a 10 year old?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Learn how to make prototypes like the pros
Interview with a digital card game creator, Yang Pulse